NORTHWEST NOTES: July 12, 2018

Bella Murekatete, a 6-foot-4 rising senior post at Genesis Prep Academy in Post Falls, will continue her basketball career at Washington State after verbally committing to the program on July 4.

Murekatete averaged 20.6 points and 18.6 rebounds per game for Genesis Prep as a junior, helping the program to a runner-up finish at the state 1A Division II tournament in February at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.

“After a lot of thought and prayer, I am excited to announced that I have verbally committed to play basketball at Washington State University,” Murekatete said in a Twitter post. “I have been blessed to have the support of family, friends, and coaches, both in Rwanda and the U.S. I look forward to play for Coach (Kamie) Ethridge at WSU.”

In the state title game, Murekatete had 25 points and 30 rebounds against Butte County and finished the tournament with 62 total rebounds.

Ethridge was named coach after leading Northern Colorado to the NCAA Tournament in her final season as coach during the 2017-18 season.

Coeur d’Alene’s Burch qualifies for National track meet

Nate Burch, a rising senior at Coeur d’Alene High, qualified for the National Junior Olympics July 23-29 at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro, N.C., winning the Boys 17-18 year-old 110 meter hurdles in 14.53 seconds at the Region 13 Junior Olympics Championships in Bend last weekend.

The first round is Thursday, July 26 with semifinals on Saturday, July 28 and finals the following day.

Bayley, Hatley win in match play

at Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur

DUPONT, Wash. — Rathdrum’s Derek Bayley and Hayden Lake’s Reid Hatley advanced from the round of 64 in match play to today’s round of 32 in the Pacific Northwest Golf Association Men’s Amateur Championship at The Home Course.

With wins in today’s round, the duo could meet in the round of 16 later today.

Montana State quarterback leaves

program to focus on academics

Chris Murray, Montana State’s starting quarterback for the past two seasons, will miss the 2018 season to focus on academics.

Bobcat coach Jeff Choate said Wednesday that while Murray is an important part of the team, everyone that joins the program understands that academics are the top priority.

Choate, the former Post Falls High football coach, said this season will give Murray a chance to get his priorities in order and raise his academic work to the standard that the university and the football program demand.

Murray is a junior from Inglewood, Calif., and is majoring in kinesiology. He has not taken a redshirt year.

Choate said the quarterback competition will begin when team practices open on Aug. 3.

MSU’s roster includes a former Oregon quarterback, Travis Jonsen, who transferred to the school after playing for Riverside City College in 2017.

The Cougars will be joined by Drake, New Mexico State and San Diego as the four teams that will compete in the final rounds at Las Vegas. Each team will play four games in the event, as Washington State will host its first two games at Pullman prior to the final rounds.

The Cougars hold a 1-0 advantage over Drake in the all-time meeting with the only matchup having come Dec. 9, 1932. WSU and New Mexico State have never met, while it has a 2-1 record against San Diego, as Washington State defeated the Toreros, 93-56 in the championship game of the 2009 Great Alaska Shootout.

FS1 will televise the third-place and championship games on Wednesday, Dec. 23.

Tickets for the final rounds in Las Vegas are available at though the WSU athletics ticket office and the Orleans Arena box office at www.orleansarena.com.

— From staff and wire reports

Clevenger

tabbed as

Vandals soccer coach

Jeremy Clevenger is set to take over the helm of Idaho Vandal soccer, becoming the fifth head coach in program history. Clevenger joins the program with more than 10 years of collegiate soccer coaching experience.

“Jeremy is a proven winner and a great fit to not only maintain the championship-caliber program that has been built here, but to take it to the next level,” said Idaho acting athletic director Pete Isakson. “He brings experience in all areas of running a successful program and has honed his craft under the direction of some of the best coaches in the college game. We are excited to have Jeremy as our head coach and we know he is excited to be a Vandal.”

“I would like to thank Pete Isakson and the search committee for giving me this opportunity to lead Vandal soccer,” Clevenger said. “I was blown away by the University and the people in the athletics department. I am looking forward to getting to work with this talented team and building on their success.”

Clevenger joins the program after two seasons at Northern Iowa. While there, the Panthers saw unprecedented success, setting a number of program records along the way. The team won 14 games in 2017, the most in program history, and recorded 11 shutouts, the most in team and Missouri Valley Conference history. The Panthers advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship game with a pair of shutout wins along the way.

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